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2018 EFL Cup Final
The 2018 EFL Cup Final, or 2018 Carabao Cup Final, was a match that took place on 25 February 2018 at Wembley Stadium. It was the first League Cup final contested under the "Carabao Cup" name following the sponsorship of Carabao Energy Drink. It was contested between Manchester City and Arsenal. The winner will enter the Second Qualifying Round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. The match was Manchester City's sixth League Cup Final, and their third in five seasons – qualification for the final also marked the first time Pep Guardiola reached a final with Manchester City. For Arsenal, the final was their eighth total in the competition, and their third of Arsène Wenger's managerial reign. Route to the final Manchester City Manchester City, as a Premier League team involved in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, started the EFL Cup in the third round, where they had been drawn away at fellow Premier League West Bromwich Albion. At The Hawthorns, they won 2–1 after two goals from Leroy Sané. In the fourth round they drew Football League Championship Wolverhampton Wanderers at home. At their Etihad Stadium, the match finished 0–0 after extra time but Manchester City advanced by winning the resulting penalty shoot-out 4–1. In the quarter-finals, they were drawn away at fellow Premier League Leicester City. At the King Power Stadium, the match finished 1–1 aet however Manchester City won the penalty shoot-out 4–3. In the two-legged semi-final they drew Championship side Bristol City. In the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City won 2–1 due to goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Agüero. In the second leg at Ashton Gate Stadium, Manchester City progressed to the final after a 3–2 result, which led to a 5–3 score on aggregate. Arsenal Arsenal, as a Premier League team involved in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, started in the third round. They were drawn at home against Football League One side Doncaster Rovers. At their Emirates Stadium, Arsenal won 1–0 due to a goal from Theo Walcott. In the next round they drew Football League Championship Norwich City at home. Arsenal progressed to the next round after a 2–1 win after extra time with two goals from Eddie Nketiah. In the quarter-finals, Arsenal drew fellow Premier League and London team West Ham United, where they won 1–0 at the Emirates Stadium due to a goal from Danny Welbeck. In the semi-finals, they drew their Premier League and London rivals Chelsea. After a 0–0 first leg at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge, Arsenal progressed to the final after a 2–1 win at the Emirates Stadium due to an own goal from Chelsea's Antonio Rüdiger and a goal from Granit Xhaka. As a result, Arsenal reached the final without leaving London as four of their five games were at home, with the away leg of the semi final being played in London. Match Preview Two players who were definitely ruled out for Arsenal are Alexandre Lacazette, who recently underwent surgery on a knee injury and Santi Cazorla, who has been troubled by an ankle complaint. There had been concerns over whether Aaron Ramsey would be available, but the Wales international looked likely to be involved in some capacity. Pep Guardiola had a number of injury concerns to deal with such as Raheem Sterling, who suffered a strain in the Champions League and could be unavailable. Gabriel Jesus could potentially return to the matchday squad having resumed training, but Fabian Delph was suspended and Benjamin Mendy remained out with an injury. Summary In the 18th minute of the match Sergio Agüero opened the scoring when he ran in on goal and lobbed the ball over the advancing goalkeeper David Ospina with his right foot from the edge of the penalty area after an initial clash with Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi who appealed for a foul. Vincent Kompany got the second in the 58th minute. A corner from the right by Kevin De Bruyne found İlkay Gündoğan on the edge of the penalty area, and his low shot was diverted into the net by Kompany with his left leg from seven yards out. David Silva got the third in the 65th minute when he shot low across and past the goalkeeper with his left foot from inside the left of the penalty area from seven yards out. Details |time = 16:30 GMT |team1 = Arsenal |score = 0–3 |report = Report |team2 = Manchester City |goals1 = |goals2 = Agüero Kompany D. Silva |stadium = Wembley Stadium, London |attendance = 85,671 |referee = Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Statistics See also *2018 FA Cup Final 2018 League Cup Final Cup Final Category:2017-18 Match Day info Category:Arsenal F.C. matches Category:Manchester City F.C. matches